The Time Traveler's Husband
by jnselwa
Summary: Sakura, a young hero, struggles to balance her trauma and her precarious quirk that sends her forward and backward through time. Will class 1A find a way to save her? And who is this mysterious man that leaves her letters in the future?
1. Save me!

The first time her quirk manifested it was an accident. Sakura was frightened of her moms new boyfriend. He was drunk and high, complaining about the fact that she was four, almost five, and still didn't have a quirk.

The long, slender drug dealer who had recently inserted himself into her life was far too invested in the little girl and her quirk. Her mother had met this bum on the streets. He had obviously liked the young prostitute for her body, and she had liked him for his drugs. It seemed like a good match for the two. Only problem was Sakura. A little kid was "a buzz kill" as the drug dealer frequently told the child, and "worth nothing" if she had no quirk.

"Leave her alone," her mother would slur, not even bothering to look at her emaciated child. "She will probably be quirkless like me."

This pissed him off. In the past month of this scumbag being in their lives, the girls mother had developed a nasty drug habit and her bitterness towards the little girl increased as well. So, when the talks of paying his supplier started, the prostitute didn't blink an eye when he mentioned selling Sakura.

Turns out, scumbags are sometimes really bad at math, and this one in particular was not turning enough profit and began taking too many loans from his supplier that he couldn't repay.

At least, not yet.

He would weave grand stories about how he and the girls mother would run away together. The 20 year old woman would fawn over the idea of reclaiming her youth. Sadly, it didn't take long to convince her. She had dragged the child along for years out of obligation, but made no effort to show affection or real attachment to her. In fact, she had no problem reminding the little girl that she was the product of some villian raping the mother when she was fifteen. Sakura was her painful reminder of what happens to lost little girls who sell their body on the streets.

Unfortunately, the little girl didn't understand the danger she was in because she was so young. Sakura was innocent and didn't see the danger coming, because the scumbag had told her that she needed a quirk to be worth enough cash, and so far she didn't show one. In her mind, she was convinced she was quirkless like hrr mom, and that she was safe.

Sakura was wrong.

On that fateful night, her mother was passed out on the couch with the scumbag. He was watching the child play with some old discarded batteries. She had no real toys, but she made due with the garbage. She was currently pretending the cylinders were little people, and she ignored the creep staring at her. It was usually safer to not engage.

"Fucking worthless" he slurred as he got up from the couch, and wobbly walked into the kitchen. He returned moments later with a large kitchen knife. Sakura sat on the floor and watched in horror as he walked over to her mother. He slid the knife under the sleeping prostitutes earlobe and slurred "you better get a quirk and fast or I'm gonna cut mommies ear off. You have five seconds."

The woman was too far gone to notice the blade begin to cut into her flesh. A small drip of blood slid down her neck.

"Five," the scumbag sneered, obviously frustrated but otherwise emotionless.

"But I dont have one," the girl trembled. She was in shock and didn't know what to do. Up to this point, the drug dealer had simply bitched about her quirklessness.

"Four."

The small child was panicking. She dropped the batteries and stared into the monsters eyes. There was no love or compassion for her or her mother there.

"Three."

She closed her eyes as hard as she could, tears streaming down her face. Why was this happening?

'Please,' she thought to herself, 'please show a quirk!'

"Two."

Sakura clenched her fists and tried to push anything to manifest. Just something to stop this monster from hurting her mommy.

"One."

In that final moment of panic, she begged her soul to save her. Sakura didn't know what prompted the initial thought, but it came out almost laced with light from the very pit of her being. 'SAVE ME! TAKE ME WAY FROM HERE!' The thought echoed in her head, and the light that surrounded the thought permeated throughout her whole body.

She heard her mother's blood curdling scream, but it was cut off. Suddenly, she was cold, and instead of dirty carpet beneath her knees, she felt cold concrete. Her eyes shot open. She was no longer home, and though it was supposed to be a warm summer night, she currently found herself in a snowy alley during the day.

Frightened, she did what any four year old would do. She cried. Loudly. Her wailing startled a small orange cat that had been sleeping by a dumpster. It jumped up and sprinted away from her.

"Hey, calm down." A gentle male voice came from above. Through red swollen eyes, the little girl looked up to see an old man crouched above her on a fire escape.

Sakura screamed and scurried to the opposite side of the alleyway.

"Woah, woah! Wait a sec! I didn't mean to scare you," he laughed. "I'm a pro hero. I'm not here to hurt you."

Somehow, in the girls panicked four year old brain, she was able to process the word hero. She knew what heroes were. They were the people on TV who helped people.

Hesitantly she calmed, and looked up at the strange old man crouched above her. He wore a green body suit, and had wildly curly white hair.

He jumped down in front of her and leaned down to be more on her level.

"Hello Sakura," he said, a reassuring smile creasing his skin around his eyes. He looked gentle and friendly, and the lost childs tears began to stop. "Welcome to the future. You can call me Deku."


	2. Training

**Hello all! Thanks for reading! I will try to post once a week or more, but life is a little crazy at the moment. Also, sorry for any grammatical errors. I've never written a fanfic before and I'm doing this to get better at writing. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome**

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A week had passed since the strange old man had found Sakura in the alleyway. He had brought her to a warm home. It was small, and really only made for one person to live in. However, Deku allowed the small girl to take the only bedroom with the twin sized bed. When Sakura had arrived, it appeared that he had already made himself comfortable on the small homes couch.

He hadn't explained things right away. He simply told her that she was safe, that she had developed her quirk, and that she could stay with him for a little while until she got a better handle on it.

Deku had allowed Sakura time to readjust to her new surroundings, and he had stayed up with her the first few nights while she was still too afraid to fall asleep in this strange new environment. Most days consisted of him getting up early and leaving to grab food for the day. He would then come back and make breakfast. After breakfast, he would tell her more about her quirk, and they would practice her control. Then Lunch. Then more practice, followed by dinner, and then she got to play with a large toy box filled to the brim with toys.

The moment he had brought it out the first time would be burned into his mind for the rest of time. There she was, a broken little girl with pink hair and big copper colored eyes, with a smile on her face that seemed to bring life to all her other features. He would read her a story, many involving grand heroes who saved people, and she would fall asleep to the sound of his voice.

Eventually Sakura was able to piece together what her quirk was. She had a rare quirk: Time Manipulation. Deku explained that it could be dangerous, and that he wouldn't always be there if she lost control and jumped in the past or future. He explained that she should avoid jumping too far in the future.

"Moving through time is tricky," he said gently. "You see, time is like a river. It flows down its path, and while the pebbles in river don't alter its flow, large boulders and trees will change its course along the way. These obstacles are like big events throughout humanity. You can take a pebble from the river, and its course will still move the same, but if you move a boulder, the stream will fracture and find a new path. We have to keep these large events safe, otherwise we could fracture the timeline. Let's say you go back in time and tell a woman to not marry someone. Poof! I no longer exist."

Everything Deku explained, he tried to do it gently, but this was an important lesson. The girl stared at him with wide eyes, and he knew he got his point across.

"I…I could kill you?" Her voice trembled at the thought. This kind grandfather had been the nicest person she had ever met. She couldn't imagine a world without him in it.

"Not kill me, but erase me from existence which is even scarier. I wouldn't have had a life to begin with. You have to be careful not to speak with people in the past or future, unless it is me." His voice was firm, which startled Sakura. Deku was many things, but he was never firm unless it was extremely important.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she cried. The small girl sat on the couch holding her knees to her chest.

"That is why I am training you," the old man said softly, trying to comfort the crying child. "That is why I am here. I know it is scary, but I am here to help. You're not alone."

The small girl looked up to the old man, and noticed his broad smile. He looked so confident, so sure. She trusted that smile to keep her safe.

After she had calmed, they began training again. Most of her training involved staying calm. Deku started her training by having her sit on the ground and practice meditation. Then he explained that the safest way to use her quirk was for her to just move from one place to another by using her quirk to jump through time.

"You should only ever tell people that your quirk is a transportation quirk. While rare, they do exist in other people, but only YOU have a time quirk. Because of that, you can't tell anyone, otherwise you will be in an extreme amount of danger. Understand?"

Sakura nodded.

"Okay, great. Now newbie, lets start working on having you use your quirk to jump around the house!"

Sakura had been with the old man for two months. It took a long time for her to get the feel for her quirk. After about a week with no luck, she had a breakthrough in meditation. While sitting there quietly, she noticed something inside her mind that she hadn't noticed before. It was like a light, hidden throughout her thoughts. When she reached out to it, it in turn reached out to her. Was this her quirk?

During the lesson, Deku asked her to visualize moving through time, but quickly. Sakura reached out to the light that she had just found, and it enveloped all of her thoughts. Everything she thought seemed to have light that danced around it. She remembered this happening before when she first jumped.

She cleared her mind and thought "Take me to the kitchen." She felt her body fill with light, and a moment later she was standing in the kitchen.

"Oh thank goodness," screamed the old man. "I thought I lost you! I thought I had pushed you too quickly and you had jumped somewhere dangerous!"

The old man was tearing up, and as Sakura stared at him in concern, she noticed that it was no longer day time.

"Wha…what happened?"

"You were gone for entire day," Deku said calmly, noticing the destress in the small girl's copper eyes. "It is okay, though. We will figure it out. Tell me how you did that."

The two talked and developed a plan. Next time she would be more precise in what she asked the light inside her.


	3. Time to go back

Sakura had stayed with Deku for two months before she returned the first time from the future. Deku told her to imagine her bedroom at home. He explained that she needed to tell the light to bring her back to the moment after she left.

Tears had filled the small childs eyes. "Please, Uncle Deku. Please don't make me go back," Sakura whimpered, remembering the scary face of that evil man standing behind her mother with a knife.

She saw the pained expression that flashed over Deku' features and felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry, little one," he responded quietly ",but your time needs you. I will need you." The last part he had said as barely a whisper, tears forming in his eyes.

Sakura's eyes widened. This was the first time he had ever brought up his past, but more importantly it was the first time she had seen him cry. She got up and moved to the usually jovial man who now sat crumpled on the couch. She placed her small hand on either side of the old mans face mimicking his actions from all the times he had comforted her tears. She tried to stop her tears and give him a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Deku," she said. "I understand. I'm just going to miss you so much. You're the nicest person I've ever met. Please dont cry." She wiped away the tears forming around Deku's wrinkled eyes, and the old man smiled in response.

"You will be great hero, Sakura," his soft voice floated between the two ",but you have to be careful. Your power is beautiful but dangerous. On one hand you could save the future, but in the other, you could destroy it. You must train. Improve. Become the strongest person you can be. I wish I could save you, but you're out of my reach. It is not my destiny to be your hero. Child, if you want peace, you must prepare for war. The war is coming, and if you aren't ready, it will destroy you and everyone you love. This future we are in right now is only one of many possible outcomes. It all depends upon you." Deku's voice was quiet, but it hung heavy on the air. Sakura held the old mans face in her hands.

"What if I'm scared?" She tried to keep herself from crying, worried about making the older man more sad.

"It's okay to be scared," he said with a soft smile. "It is fighting that fear that makes us a hero." He wrapped his large arms around the little girl and hugged her tightly. When he released her, he stood. "Time to go. Remember what I told you. "

The little girl nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I love you, Uncle Deku," she said after a moment of silence.

"And I, you. Now go, and follow my instructions. They will keep you as safe as can be possible." The old man handed her a backpack with clothes and other supplies. She put the bag on and stood still while Deku pinned an envelope to her shirt. She couldn't read, so she ignored it and only focused on the old mans face. She tried to burn his features into her memory, because she knew (as she had been told many times over the weeks being here) she would never see him again.

They exchanged one final hug, and Deku stood up and loomed over the small pink haired girl.

"Okay, Newbie," he declared in a triumphant tone ",remember what we practiced! The stronger the emotion, the more accurate the jump! So think of something that moves your heart with intensity and remember where you are going!" His eyes where shadowed from the light above him, but the bright green eyes shone through the shadow with intensity.

Sakura closed her eyes and remembered the wicked man. The fear swelled within her, knowing that soon she would be near him again. She remembered the blood curdling scream that could only have come from her mother. Her body trembled, but she pushed her thoughts through the fear. The light the she had found in her mind glowed with greater intensity than normal. 'Take me there,' she thought ',take me there but in my room.' Her mind guided her to images of the bare room with dirty covers plopped on the floor. The light glowed around the image, then she heard a loud pop.

Deku stood quietly for a moment after the bright flash and pop sound that marked the departure of the small girl.

"Stay safe, kid," he whispered into the empty room. Eventually, he heard a soft jingle coming from his pants pocket. He picked up the phone without bothering to look who it was. Only one person had the number to this phone.

"I have to admit," Deku said as soon as the phone was to his ear, "It was hard to watch her go, knowing what she was going back to. How did you get used to that, Kacchan?"


	4. Acceptance Letter

First off, I would just like to thank everyone who has spent time reading my story. Someone did say that I should proofread my stories before I post them, and I definitely try. However, the last few chapters I have typed up on my phone. The app that I use doesn't have auto-correct or spell-check. I've been trying to catch everything, but you might still find errors from time to time. I am honestly trying to catch everything, but my time is limited.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's going to be longer than the rest, because I wanted to get things moving. Also, I figured we dived into young Sakura for three chapters, and it might be fun to jump forward a bit. Don't worry, you will find out about her past . Thanks again!

\--13 Years Later--

"I can't believe both Hatsume girls are going to UA!"

Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume were so full of pride while staring at both Sakura and Mei. The attention made Sakura flinch back. To be honest, she preferred no one to pay attention to her. Attention was dangerous. Her acceptance letter sat on the table, not far from the one Mei had received a week prior. Mei had received her letter first since she didn't need to wait for the results of the practical portion of the exam.

No one in the Hatsume household was particularly surprised that the incredibly smart and ambitious daughter, Mei, would get into the prestigious school. No. That was a given. What did shock the family was when Sakura's acceptance letter came. Not because the they believed her unintelligent or weak, but because no one knew she had even applied. And to the Hero Course of all things!

Sakura had always been quiet, aloof, and a tad secretive. Every word that came out of her mouth seemed calculated, as if the wrong word would land her in a cell. She rarely spoke to her foster family, and had never even mentioned becoming a hero.

Yet, there it stood. A holographic video of All Might declaring that Sakura Hatsume was admitted into the Hero Course at UA. Her name was clear, written at the tenth spot along with a slew of other names. Mei and her mother had cheered, while Mr. Hatsume simply smiled down at his foster daughter.

"Great," Sakura had said unenthusiastically. It's hard to be enthusiastic about something she already knew was going to happen. That's the thing about time travel, a lot of the surprises get ruined. However, she tried to force a smile for the others sake.

"You should have told us! We would have waited to celebrate Mei's acceptance letter if you had even mentioned applying!" Mrs. Hatsume was a kind, middle aged woman with soft curves, long brown dreadlocked hair, and a large inviting smile. Her most prominent feature, however, was her eyes. They were yellow with a cross in the center, making them look like scope lenses. She was wrapping her arms around Sakura and jumping up and down, behaving much more like a school girl than a mother.

When she stopped Mr. Hatsume approached. He was a little older than his wife, but his short, spikey, pink hair gave him a youthful vibe. He approached Sakura, and gave her a warm hug. "Good job, sport," he whispered in her ear before letting go of her. Sakura's smile grew. Yes. She had known that she would be accepted into UA, but there was no way she would have known the Hatsume family would be so happy for her.

She had only been in their home for a little over 3 years, and she had barely spoken. That never seemed to stop them from trying to get close to the young girl. They would prattle on at the dining room table about their day. Sometimes they would ask Sakura about her day, and she would give them "it was fine", and they would practically give her a standing ovation. She felt guilty. Here was this perfect family, and she was thrown right in the middle of it. A disaster on two legs. They were so kind. So supportive of the young girl. They never pushed her to talk about her past, or ask where the scars that encircled her wrists came from. No. They let her be a normal teenage girl.

Too bad she never would really be one.

"OH!" Mei's exclamation startled everyone and drew their attention. "I just realized I get to you're your hero gear! I'm so excited! Your quirk is so unique, and you've never let me study it, but now you will, right?" Mei was able to get overly enthusiastic about almost anything that had to do with creating hero tech (her over enthusiasm stemming primarily from her parents), but this would be on another level. Mei was basically vibrating with excitement.

"We will see," Sakura said before grabbing the acceptance letter and walking to her room. She needed to be alone. Yes, it was nice of the Hatsume's to want to celebrate and be excited with her, but Sakura had worked very hard at keeping this family at arm's length. It had been difficult. She cared for all three of them deeply, and she became emotionally attached quickly against her better judgement.

Why did they have to be so damn lovable?

She flopped onto her mattress and tossed the acceptance letter on her night stand. Her room was sparsely decorated, and Sakura preferred it that way. This was just one stop in what she felt was going to be a long road. She curled up on the soft mattress and cradled a pillow. She could still hear the family talking through the thin walls of their loving home. They wouldn't push her, she knew that because they never did, but they would still be excited for her. She couldn't stop that.

She worried. She was good at that, but her worries weren't groundless. She worried about what would happen to the Hatsume's if Mei discovered Sakura's true power. She worried that they would be tortured, much like her previous foster parents. The Hatsume's ignorance of her was hopefully what would keep them safe. Over the years, Sakura had allowed herself to suffer on the outside in hopes that it would keep this kind, gentle, and naïve family from harm. Yes. Sakura longed for a family, and yes, she cared deeply for this adoptive family, but it would be almost cruel to put her burden on their shoulders.

No. She wouldn't do it. Shecouldn'tdo it. She would keep them safe by keeping them at arm's length. It was the only way.

She reminded herself of this as she laid on her bed and stared at the strange family portrait the Hatsume's had taken her first year with them. Mei had singed off eyebrows from some experiment, Mr. Hatsume had a bandage on his face from said experiment, and Mrs. Hatsume had some signs of sleep deprivation (no doubt from sleepless nights worrying about what her husband and daughter were going to come up with next). However, they all smiled ear to ear. They looked so happy and complete, but there off to the side was a pink haired, copper eyed girl, with no smile, who didn't seem to fit. Yet, Mei still held her hand, and Mrs. Hatsume had a hand placed on her shoulder.

She loved them. She couldn't help but love them, and she would protect them from herself.

She shook her head and jumped up from her bed. Grabbing a gym bag, she went and locked her bedroom door. It wouldn't be great if the Hatsume's learned about her little outings. She would return before supper, and the family would be none the wiser. They seemed to avoid bothering her when she was in her room, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Hopefully, if they wanted to talk before then, they would find the locked door and just assume she was resting.

Sakura tied her long pink hear up into a high ponytail, and grabbed her water bottle. She was going to be later than usual, but she should still be able to make it on time to her class. Talking with her foster family had taken longer than she had anticipated.

Pop*

With a flash of light, Sakura found herself in an empty back alley in the neighboring city of Musutafu. She tossed the gym bag on her back and sprinted down the alleyway and across the street. She entered a gym and smiled at the receptionist. She liked that this place was far enough away that she wouldn't accidentally run into her classmates, and she appreciated that it was small enough to not have too many patrons.

"I was wondering if you weren't coming today," said the smiling man sitting behind a computer. "It's rare for you to arrive with only five minutes to spare."

"It's been a busy day," Sakura replied. "Can't talk. I'll be late." The man waved her through and she sprinted to the girl's locker room. She changed quickly into a white tank top and black leggings, placed her belongings into a locker, and rushed to join the class congregating in a room in the back.

The room was a tad musty from its history of having sweaty bodies tossed around on its padded floors, but for Sakura it felt like her second home. She had been coming her for years ever since she had received a note from her "Secret Admirer" during one of her accidental jumps to the future. To date, she had four notes from this unknown person, and she always found them after every jump to the future. She figured they were from Uncle Deku, and it comforted her to know he was still looking out for her.

The note about this gym had given her the gym name, and even the name of the class she was supposed to sign up for. It had money in the envelope, enough for her to take the class until she started University. It told her that she might need to "kick some ass" and to "stay safe". She always kept those letters in a small shoe box under her bed. She would pull them out when she needed an encouraging word. Those letters, and this class helped her feel closer to Uncle Deku somehow.

Most people were mingling with their age group or demographic. Sakura stayed close to the back, and tried her best to keep to herself. Not long after she arrived, a young man around her age walked in. 'Ugh' Sakura thought to herself, seeing Bakugou enter. She had seen this guy at almost every class, and she just couldn't get a taste for him. The blonde, spikey headed man was the self-proclaimed "best at everything", and the "soon to be number one hero".

'What a pompous prick' she couldn't help but think to herself at the sight of him. Sure, he had a showy quirk, and sure, he was obnoxiously good at everything, but his personality left much to be desired. He did get a lot of attention from most people in the class, and it always seemed positive and supportive. For some reason, though, she couldn't help but see him as a bully. He always seemed to want to beat someone else down in order to make himself look better. It was sad.

"Eh?!" His red eyes caught hers, and a wicked grin spread across his face. "Looking for a fight, Cherry?"

Shit! She hadn't realized she was glaring at the punk. She wanted to say something, maybe she did want a fight just to knock him down a peg or two, but she averted her stare instead. It wouldn't look good if she came to dinner with a black eye. 'I got in a fight with my bed post' Sakura thought to herself, imagining the look on the Hatsume's eyes as she walked down stairs. She smiled. This sent the wrong message to blondie.

"Whatcha' smiling about?! Wanna Die!?" His loud voiced echoed in the small building, as he stomped his way over to where Sakura was standing. The way he moved and behaved reminded Sakura of the delinquents at her high school. She allowed herself to meet his boiling glare with one of disdain.

"Don't be so noisy, Bakugou" she said softly with contempt, much to the chagrin of the young man. He had made his way to Sakura and stood in front of her, crouching to match her height. His eyes and grin were venomous. A lesser person would shrink in front of such an intimidating person, but she just looked on, bored and a tad annoyed.

These two had hit heads a few times in the past. Mostly due to Sakura's frustration with him, but sometimes simply because she had picked something up in class before he did. He hated that, and those happened to be her favorite days in this musty old gym. She had been taking this class on close combat for two years, and this punk had started a few weeks before her. Sakura hadn't realized he had gotten under her skin to such an extent until it was too late.

The rivalry between the two had been a good motivator for Sakura to push herself in the class, and although Sakura hated standing out, she had made it her mission to put this asshole in his place. Unfortunately, his cocky attitude was persistent, but it certainly did help her to come out of her shell, even if it was negatively.

"Bakugou, are you trying to start fights before class, again?" The teacher, a retired hero name Yoshimoto, entered and placed a hand on both Sakura's and Bakugou's shoulder. "You both are going to destroy a building someday, but please don't make it my gym. I'm particularly fond of it." At this, the older man laughed, and the mood in the room lightened.

Sakura hadn't noticed the other students circling around her and Bakugou, probably excited to see a fight. However, with Yoshimoto's arrival, the crowd began to disperse. She inwardly slapped herself upside the head. She couldn't afford to let that dumb brat coax her into a fight. Fight's cause attention, and attention is the last thing she needed.

Bakugou sent one last nasty look in Sakura's direction before stomping off to the opposite side of the room.

"Well that was relatively painless," laughed Yoshimoto. "You must be in a good mood today, Bakugou!"

Bakugou scoffed. "Hell yeah I am! I just got my acceptance to UA. I'm leaving all you extra's behind! You might want my autograph before I leave, Cherry. Next time you see me, I'll be the number one hero!"

'Seriously? How did I not notice…' Sakura moaned to herself. She had only checked the list to see where she placed, but had paid no mind to the others. She regretted that now, and would take the time to go through the list when she got home. She could only beg to any god listening that he wasn't in her class.

After a handful of congratulations from the class, omitting Sakura of course, the class began. They practiced a few holds and releases, but otherwise the rest of class on uneventful. She helped a few classmates after she had figured it out, and she tried her best to ignore Bakugou who was testing out the new hold on anyone stupid enough to work with him.

Class finished and she quickly made her way to the locker room to change. On her way there, one of her classmates raced to catch up. She had seen this particular man a few times these last few months, and she noticed he seemed to prefer the company of the few women in the class. He was more focused on wrestling with said ladies, and less focused on the actual lessons being taught. She had figured he was just some kind of perv, and she tried to steer clear of him the few times he approached her. Unfortunately, her rejection only seemed to encourage him more somehow.

"Hey there, Cherry," he said with sleezy smile. He blocked her path by leaning against the wall in the path that she was heading. 'I'm sure he thinks this is charming,' she thought with a small mental gag.

"Don't call me that." Her voice was low, but she attempted stay civil even if this guy was obnoxious. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, sorry! I heard Bakugou call you that, and I thought it was your nickname or something. Anyway, I just wanted to invite you to a party I'm having at Dagobah Beach. Seems someone cleaned it up, and what perfect timing! Right at the end of the school year. The party is tomorrow before sunset, BYOB, and there will be tons of people from the area." He leaned closer to Sakura. "I'd really like to see you there."

Another mental gag.

"Jeez! What an idiot!" Sakura recognized that arrogant voice and immediately prickled. "For one, Cherry hear is as anti-social as they come, and two, a blind man could see she has no interest in you!" Bakugou's voice came from directly behind Sakura. She didn't bother turning to look at him as she could see his obnoxious face in her mind. He probably had that stupid shit-eating grin. She knew if she even looked at that smile it would rile her up, again. It was best to just ignore his presence.

"Sorry," she said, trying to keep a respectful tone, but it came out sounding forced and insincere. Damn it. She hated the effect Bakugou had on her. She found it harder to keep cool with him around. "I'm pretty sure I'm busy that day. Have fun." The perv's face dropped, but she rushed around him before he, or the ass behind her, could say anything else.

She changed in the locker room and rushed out of the gym. She thanked her lucky stars when she noticed neither boy in sight on her way out. Sakura walked into the back alley, and looked around to make sure no one was watching.

Pop!*

She had gotten really good at that. After so many years of practice, she mostly didn't have to tell her quirk what to do. As soon as she saw the coast was clear, she just thought, and it happened. It sometimes would go haywire, but mostly it followed her commands. In fact, it had been almost a year since the last "accident" where she freaked out and jumped through time.

Sakura found herself inside her room facing her bedroom door. She turned to check that she was home at the correct time, although she was fairly confident, and jumped when her eyes landed on the unexpected figure sitting on her bed.

Mei stood up from the mattress, her pink dreadlocks bouncing with her movement, and her yellow scope lensed eyes gleaming. "Welcome back, Sakura," she whispered.

"Shit," Sakura cursed to herself. This really was shaping up to be a long day.


	5. Sisters!

**Hey All! Sorry that I've been MIA for the last few weeks. Between weddings and funerals, it has been a little crazy for me. I'm hoping to get another chapter out this week (including this one) if all goes as planned. I'm thinking that the next chapter will be the last one before our hero's start at UA. I want to get as far as possible in this next chapter to make that happen, so it might be a little long. It took a little bit, because I wanted to establish some relationships that will play key roles in the future, but I also wanted you as the reader to kind of understand Sakura. I hope you like her, and you will be getting more action in the next chapter and the upcoming ones as well.**

**Also, I did make it so that everyone is 18 or older. They are also going to University instead of high school. Otherwise, everything else is going to be the same.**

**Finally, I just want to say that I'm just doing this because it is fun. I'm not a writer, and I'm not aiming to be a professional writer. I'm going to make mistakes, and I want to learn from them. (It never hurts to write better.) So, if you ever have a criticism, I would love to hear, but please do not expect perfection.**

**Anyway, ENJOY!**

Sakura stood completely frozen looking at Mei. "How…" she mumbled, as her mind raced. She had locked the door, right?

"Oh," Mei whispered. Something was off about her behavior, and it put Sakura on edge. "I picked the lock. It's not hard. Um…I also might have snooped." Her words came out slowly, as if she was trying to figure out the best words to explain herself, but the more guilt that crossed her face, the faster the words spilled out. "I thought…well I'm like your sister, right? I came to talk to you about going to UA, and I saw you locked your door, and decided to come in when you didn't answer my knock."

"Mei…" Sakura warned, taking a step forward, her heartbeat ringing in her ears. She noticed a shoe box opened at Mei's feet. Sakura's tone startled Mei, but the other girl continued her explanation even faster than before, guilt clearly showing in her mannerisms.

"Well then I didn't see you, and thought 'Oh how naughty of my sister for sneaking out', and that it seemed oddly 'normal' of you. Not to say that you aren't normal!" Her look of guilt turned to frustration. It was obvious to Sakura that Mei was having a hard time explaining herself. This was new for the pink dreadlocked girl, who was often well spoken.

Mei cleared here throat, obviously trying to gather her thoughts. "Anyway, I thought it would be funny to see if you had a diary. You see, I don't really know much about you, and now we will be going to the same school. Who knows? I might be making your hero gear in the future? So, even though you might get mad, I thought it would be a funny kind of mad." Mei looked up at Sakura, and made eye contact for the first time. It was obvious this was not going to be funny in any kind of way. "Okay. I get how stupid that seems now, but I figured I would just find out who you had a crush on. Nothing big, ya' know?" Tears began to form around Mei's yellow eyes. "I'm sorry. I know it was stupid. I just wanted to know you, but I found this," she motioned towards the shoe box in front of her ",and as soon as I realized what it was…," she was babbling now, obviously ashamed as the tears escaped her control and streamed down her face.

Sakura's face couldn't hide her anxiety as she broke eye contact with her 'sister'. She walked over to the bed and stared down at the shoe box that had obviously been tampered with. She knew what was in there. Notes from her 'Secret Admirer'. Notes from the future. She went through a mental list of all four notes. The first was from when she was around seven. She had accidentally jumped into the future when she was startled by a large dog lunging for her. She hadn't gotten the hang of controlling her quirk, and it sent her far in the future. She popped up in a park at night, and there it was, a note with her name on it, taped to a nearby bench. The note simply explained to her that she wouldn't have the energy to go home for twenty-four hours, and that there was a room booked for her at the hotel across the street. It also told her that everything was going to be okay. It came with a room card, and a room number. She eventually made it to the hotel room and was happy to see food and candy.

During this time Sakura was being thrown around the foster care system because, as it turns out, most people aren't prepared for a child who can simply pop away from them in an instant. Her first home wasn't awful, but she only stayed there for about three years. The adults had taken in too many foster kids, and they couldn't keep running around town to try and find Sakura after she "popped" away during an argument.

Her second home was the worst, and was when she got her second and third letter. These notes were similar, but they had a sprinkle of encouraging words. Those words were what kept Sakura going when she was young. The home itself had seemed fine when she first arrived, but it became obvious quickly that the man and woman who took her in didn't want anything but the check they received from the government to take care of her. She jumped forward twice in this home on accident, and once backward. Forward turned out to far more favorable, because she found her letters with money and hotel keys. Backwards she had nothing but fear. She ended up curling up under a playground slide, and tried her best to stay out of sight.

After three jumps, she was eventually taken out of that home and put into a good home. It was a home that she ruined.

The fourth note was the most problematic. It was long, and contained a lot of her secrets and past pain. It explained everything she was going through at that time, and had told her what was to come and how to escape her prison. The fourth note also had a problematic picture as well. It was a picture of her, older than she was now, dressed in a UA uniform with arms wrapped around her shoulders. The owners of the arms had been cropped out, but on the back of the photo it said "You will find happiness, again. I'm so sorry. I love you."

She didn't want to explain anything. She probably didn't need to, based on the look of the girl in front of her. Mei was slumped over, face in her hands. Sakura was angry with her, but her knowledge of Mei knew that the girl, while misguided, had no ill intent. She had been pushing for them to be 'sisters' ever since Sakura had moved in, and Sakura had pushed her away. Plus, her anger mostly stemmed from fear, and she had become very good at controlling her fear.

"Mei," she stated flatly, trying to suppress any malice in her voice, "you cannot tell anyone."

"I know…"

"If you tell anyone, it will just put them, yourself, and me in danger." Sakura's tone was firm, but she placed a hand on Mei's shoulder and squeezed. "Did you read them all?" Mei nodded. "Then you know I can't lose more people. I can't lose you, or your family. Please, Mei. Keep this between us. Don't bring your parents into this."

Mei jumped from the bed and wrapped her arms around Sakura. "I'm so sorry, Sakura. I'm sorry for snooping, and I'm sorry you went through all of that. I understand why you need it to be a secret, and I will keep it a secret. I promise. Please don't hate me."

Sakura had stiffened from the sudden contact, but eventually returned the embrace. "I could never hate you," she finally whispered into Mei's ear. "We are sisters after all." With those words, Mei began to softly sniffle into Sakura shoulder, and the two girls stayed in that embrace until they were called down for dinner.

The next day, the two girls were in Mei's room putting on clothes. Mei had replaced her signature goggles with a far more reasonable headband, and replaced what normally would be considered a mechanics uniform with a formfitting white sundress with yellow flowers. She had even convinced Sakura, who would normally be found in either her school uniform or a t-shirt with black leggings, to wear a knee length black dress. Both girls studied themselves in the mirror.

"We clean up pretty well," Mei laughed, and Sakura gave her a small smile.

Mei had agreed to keep everything a secret. She had even turned out to be quite the actress, and was able to play off her puffy eyes at the dining room table as allergies. Sakura hated making Mei lie to her parents, but both girls knew what the consequences of the truth would be. Sakura felt guilty, and that is why she had agreed to go with Mei to a party today. It was the party that the perv at the gym had invited her to. As it turns out, one of Mei's friends was going to be there, and had previously invited Mei to come along.

"It's nice doing sisterly things together!" Mei had been practically vibrating with enthusiasm since Sakura had agreed to go with her to the party.

"Yeah," Sakura said softly, making eye contact with herself in the mirror. The truth was, Sakura had longed for familial bonds, but her past ones had been ripped from her so painfully…

A vision of a mutilated child flashed in her mind.

Sakura gasped, stepping back from the mirror and startling Mei in the process. Before Mei could say anything, Sakura walked out of the room and began to move quickly to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her, and went into the medicine cabinet and found her prescription. She tossed back the small white pill, and sat on the edge of the tub waiting for it to calm the rush trauma trying to push itself to the front of her mind. That vision was painful, but it often brought worse ones. She had learned to react quickly, otherwise she would be in the midst of a full-blown panic attack. She eventually steadied her breath, and heard a knock. Opening the door, she found herself face to face with a very concerned Mei.

"You okay?" Mei whispered. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"No. It isn't you," Sakura said with a reassuring smile. "I didn't mean to startle you. Let's get going."

The two girls traveled by train to Dagobah beach, much to Sakura's frustration, but Mei had insisted they should travel the good old-fashioned way.

"The journey is sometimes more important than the destination," Mei had said to a brooding Sakura, as they stood on the crowded public transportation. Sakura wasn't the best with conversation, but that didn't stop Mei from talking the entire ride. Funny enough, the small girl prattling on about inventions did help calm her down. Sakura was pretty sure that was Mei's goal all along, because she caught a few worried glances from the girl in between sentences.

When the train stopped, the two girls made their way into a nearby store to buy drinks.

"What should we get? Alcoholic or non-alcoholic?" Mei bounced from one option to the next.

"I don't think I can make it through this sober." Sakura eyes caught the bright packaging of a fruity cocktail. "How about these? There are four cans. That should be enough for both of us, right?"

"You want to share!?" Mei shrieked in excitement. "We really are acting like sisters now!"

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura brought the drinks to the counter and showed her ID. They both had just recently turned the legal age limit, so the cashier scrutinized her ID longer than normal but eventually handed it back. They paid, and then made their way to the exit.

On the way out of the store, Mei accidently bumped into someone coming in.

"Eh?" Bakugou's irritated voice caught Sakura's attention. "Tell your friend to watch where they're going!"

Sakura sighed. Of course, with over a hundred thousand people in this city, she had the rotten luck to run into him.

"S-sorry," Mei sputtered, thrown aback by this stranger suddenly yelling at her.

"You don't have to apologize to him. He's just a bully." Sakura put herself in between the two and stepped up to meet Bakugou's red eyes.

"What was that!? You want to fight, Cherry!?" Bakugou's squared his shoulders and scoffed down at the smaller woman.

"You're being too loud, Bakugou," Sakura said with a bored expression, her copper eyes glaring menacingly at the boy, daring him to start something. The two kept eye contact until Sakura felt a small tug on her sleeve. She turned to see a worried Mei.

"Hey," Mei squeaked out. "We should get going. The party is starting soon, and my friend is probably already there."

"Party?" Bakugou stared down at the drinks that Sakura was holding. "You aren't going to the perv's party, are you?" His expression changed from the arrogant one he always had on to one of genuine concern.

"That's none of your business," Sakura stated simply.

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the convenience store with Mei, refusing to answer Bakugou's question. This normally would send Bakugou into rage, but the young man stood still. He heard the one called Mei rattle off an interrogation level inquiry about how Sakura knew him, but they moved too far away for him to hear her reply. His mind was flooded with possible outcomes for tonight. What was going to originally be a simple operation of catching that pervert in the act, was now becoming far more complicated.

"SHIT!" Bakugou's yell, and subsequent explosions from his palms, startled the store clerk enough for him to hide behind the register. The ding of the door opening made the clerk peek out where he caught the last glimpses of Bakugou running out.

"Damn kids," the clerk mumbled to himself.


	6. Nejire

**Hey! I wanted to get farther in this chapter, but I'm having a bit of writers block. I would rather give a shorter chapter than one that pushes the story in a weird direction. Anyway, enjoy! I will try to post once a week!**

2 Weeks Earlier*

Bakugou didn't know why he was stomping through this part of town. The whole atmosphere pissed him off. All these wealthy people, and what do they do? They take up huge amounts of space. Giant homes that expanded into giant yards, that then expanded into their neighbors' giant homes and yards. Meanwhile, the majority of Japan is smashed into tiny apartments stacked on top of each other with barely enough room to move around. He knew he probably looked out of place with his shabby clothes, but he dared anyone to say anything.

"Why the fuck am I doing this," he said out loud to himself while rubbing the back of his head. This was so dumb. Some girl at his gym had approached him after class, worried and crying. She had told him that her friend, Ami, had stopped talking to her a few days ago, and she was worried that her friend had gotten caught up in something bad. It wasn't like Ami to drop off the face of the planet. She told him that Ami wouldn't talk to any of her friends, but Bakugou might be able to get her to talk because Ami has been in the same class as Bakugou since they were little. Bakugou had noticed the girl, Ami, had stopped coming to class, but didn't think anything of it.

"Damnit," he cursed to himself. He had a soft spot for crying girls, though he would never show or admit to it.

He eventually made it to the giant home, and buzzed at the gate. After a bit of back and forth with a man on the intercom, he was allowed in. Ami, a pretty brunette, opened the large front door and stared dumbfoundedly at the obviously irritated Bakugou standing on her doorstep. She cautiously welcomed him in, and took him into a large living room where they both sat on an extravagant couch.

"Would you like some tea?" Her voice cracked and Bakugou finally took a long look at her. She had dark circles under her eyes, and was thinner.

"You look like hell. What the heck is going on, huh? Why do you have your friends begging me to come check on you?" Bakugou wasn't going to beat around the bush. It wasn't his style, and he was already irritated just being here.

The girl leaned down, suddenly looking more drained than before. "I'm sorry. I didn't ask them, too. Tell them I'm fine."

"That's bullshit, and we both know it." Bakugou stood, hands spread out in front of him. "Don't you dare fucking lie to me again, or I will light something on fire!" His hands let loose a few explosions, and the girl jumped.

The girl sat there with large eyes. Was he there to help her, or beat her up? She shivered, as she stared up into angry red eyes. "I can't…," she started, but Bakugou let go another explosion and she yelped. She had seen him beat up the biggest of bullies. There was no hope in her worming out of this, because he wanted information, and Bakugou always got what he wanted. This was something she had known since grade school, but she also knew, contradictory to all of his outward appearance, he was a good guy. "Promise not to tell anyone."

"No." His tone was flat, and left no negotiations. "If I feel I need to tell someone, I will. I will promise to not get your stupid friends involved to the best of my ability, but don't expect me to not go to authorities if I feel I need to."

Tears filled Ami's eyes, but she nodded. "Guess that's as good as I'm going to get." She looked back down at her hands, still trembling. "I think…I think I was raped."

Bakugou steadied himself, and responded as evenly as possible, a contrast to his tone only moments before. He didn't want to scare her out of this, now that he had basically scared her into talking about this. "Tell me what happened."

"You know Nejire, from the self-defense class that we are in?"

Present Day*

Bakugou was running through the streets trying to catch Cherry and Mei. He was shocked to not see them anywhere, but would later discover that Sakura had used her quirk to jump her and Mei to the alley by the gym in order to intentionally get away from him. Unfortunately, without this information, he was left running through the streets aimlessly until he finally made a long, zigzaggy way to the beach where festivities had already started. He paused to catch his breath by the boardwalk that led down to beach, trying to look through the crowd to find the two pink headed girls.

"Shit," he cursed, realizing there were way too many people to find them easily. He had known this would be tricky, but with Sakura here, it ruined his previous plan. He tried to settle his nerves and break down what he knew. He knew that the perv from his and Sakura's self-defense class, Nejire, had lured Ami to a party like this. He knew that Nejire had approached Ami AFTER she had drank a cup of some alcoholic drink. After this, he started getting handsy with Ami, she tried to gently brush him off, and then she became incredibly intoxicated from her one drink. Ami had explained that she got her drink from the bar, but it didn't make sense how the one drink could get her so drunk. Bakugou figured Nejire must have had an accomplice that spiked Ami's drink before Nejire came over. After Ami blacked out, she found herself in Nejire's apartment, naked and obviously post-sex.

Bakugou had wanted to follow Nejire tonight. Catch either him or his accomplice in the act, and call the cops. Ami refused to come forward. She still blamed herself, and Nejire had made it very clear that she never told him to stop. Bakugou had tried to talk her into coming forward, but she refused, and he had no proof to bring to the police at this point. Only allegations from a girl who wouldn't admit to them.

Now, instead of following Nejire, he had to follow Cherry. It was obvious that the perv had his eyes on her. He had even asked her to come to this party tonight, much like how he had asked Ami. He bit the inside of his lip in frustration. Hopefully, he could stop Nejire tonight from hurting Cherry, and then catch him some other night.

Staring at the crowd below him, he finally noticed a flash of pink in the crowd. There she was. Something tightened in his chest, but he ignored it. He pushed his way through the crowd in Sakura's direction.


	7. Thanks, Hero

Sakura didn't want to run into Bakugou, again. So, once her and Mei were in an empty alley, Sakura grabbed Mei's hand and used her quirk to teleport them both.

"What the…" Mei yelled at the new environment as they popped into the dingy alley across the street from Sakura's Gym.

"Calm down," Sakura said dully. "It will actually take us less time to get to the party from here anyway, and we don't have to see that hothead, again. The beach is only two blocks from here."

"Wow! I know you said you could teleport us both with your quirk, but I didn't even know it was happening!" Mei's voice was loud and echoing in the tight space, and Sakura winced, hoping no one would overhear. She tugged on the other girl's hand and began leading out of the alleyway. "So how does your quirk work, by the way? It's an emitter type quirk, obviously, but how did you bring us here?" Mei's yellow eyes were fixed on Sakura as the two girls exited the alley. Mei had no idea where they were, but her excitement was basically radiating off of her.

"I have to know the place well enough to picture it in my mind, and the poof. There I am." Sakura's tone was guarded, but she continued. "I've increased the amount of times I can do it in a day to 20, but that really depends on how I'm using it. The way I figure, each person I take with me counts towards that number. So just now, I used up 2 jumps by taking you along."

"So, what happens if you jump and you don't have a destination in mind?" Mei's obviously hit a nerve, because Sakura promptly let go of her hand, and was quiet for some time. "Oh," Mei's tone was far more subdued. "So that's when you jump through…"

"Yeah," Sakura interrupted her. Her soft pink hair flowed down her face, blocking Mei from seeing her expression. Sakura stared at the pavement as they walked, thinking back on all of the times she had lost control. She was a danger to not only the ones she cared about, but reality as she knows it, and she hated herself and this quirk because of that.

"Well, I've never seen you fight. How do you use such a defensive quirk?" It was obvious to Sakura, that Mei was trying to change the subject and she appreciated it. She looked up to the dreadlocked girl walking with her and gave a soft smile.

"A lot of hard work. I don't have a quirk that makes me particularly strong in a head to head battle, but I can pop anywhere I can see. That includes 50 feet up. So, I grab my opponents, and basically use different holds to slam them into the ground. Or I can fall from those heights and drop kick them."

Mei stopped in her tracks. "I HAVE IDEAS FOR NEW BABIES!" Mei then began to prattle on about shock absorbing soles, jets, harpoons, and other support items that seemed to grow more in ridiculousness as she went on, but Sakura appreciated the lighter conversation as they finally made it to the beach.

"Wow. This is bigger than I thought it would be. Let me call my friend." Mei pulled out her phone, and eventually the two made their way through the crowd to a red head sitting at a table. She waved at the two smiling as they approached, but her expression suddenly turned to one of concern. Sakura turned to see what the girl was looking at behind them, and saw a familiar spiky blonde head stomping his way toward her.

"You go ahead, Mei. I'll deal with this guy." Mei looked concerned but nodded and continued toward her friend. Sakura watched curiously as Bakugou made his way toward her, hands in pockets, and his usual scowl out in full force. The two made eye contact, and Sakura thought she might have detected a slight blush on his cheeks. She chocked it up to a figment of her imagination.

"What do you need now, Bakugou?" She stared unexcitingly at him as he approached.

"SHUTUP, LOSER! I'm here to make sure a weakling like you and that clumsy girl don't do something stupid!" Bakugou's words shocked Sakura, and she stared at him dumbfoundedly for a moment. "You idiot! Don't you know it's dangerous on this side of town at night! You two girls are prime targets for some pervert! I'm here to make sure you get home safe!" His tone was harsh, but there was a strange protective quality to them.

Sakura was speechless for a moment, and Bakugou looked away first. No. There was definitely a small blush on his cheeks. Sakura was sure of it. "You're here to…protect me?" Her voice was softer than how she normally spoke to this annoying asshole, but for a moment he reminded her of someone from her past. A young fiery boy, someone she had not thought of in years, that had tried to save her. She felt her face flush. "Why?"

"Oi! Your friends are waiting. Are we going to leave them there all night?" His tone was quieter this time, and he walked past her towards Mei.

Sakura snapped out of it, and turned to follow him. "I don't need protection, Bakugou."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand at her dismissively.

Something about this whole situation felt weird to her. It didn't make sense. Why was he doing this? It seemed that she wasn't going to get any information from him as he plopped down into a seat by the table. Mei and her friend jumped at his sudden arrival and eyed him and Sakura suspiciously.

"Ignore him. He seems to see himself as some kind of vigilante," Sakura mocked as she sat down next to him. She looked at Mei, but she could feel the heat of his glare. "Doesn't want us to get kidnapped or something." She turned to look at the angry bull sitting next to her and smiled.

"Shutup!" Bakugou growled while the other two girls relaxed and laughed. Everyone at the table started to drink, except Bakugou.

"Would you like one?" Sakura offered him one of her two fruity drinks.

"I'm not gonna drink some froufrou drink," He scoffed.

"Be thirsty then," she huffed. Placing the drink in front of him before cracking hers open. The three girls talked for a while, and the sun began to lower on the horizon. Before long, Sakura caught Bakugou reaching for the drink, avoiding her eye contact.

"Thirsty, huh," she laughed.

"Shut up."

The four sipped their drinks, and before long the sun was about to set.

"Let's go see the sunset!" Mei said eagerly. All the girls got up and headed down to the beach, while Bakugou stomped behind them. It was difficult walking through the crowd once they got down to the sandy shore. Many people had already sprawled out towels and chairs to claim spots.

"Why are their so many people?" Sakura questioned Mei's red headed friend.

"There are supposed to be fireworks tonight."

Finally, the three found a small place to sit. The spot was barely large enough for the girls and Bakugou, but they all sat on the sand. Sakura turned to look at the strange man who had followed them, but he stared expressionless at the sunset. She found herself surprised at how handsome he looked when he wasn't scowling, but then kicked herself for thinking such a thing. His whole behavior today had seemed off.

Bakugou didn't seem the type to push himself into many social situations, yet here he was. She just couldn't figure out why he was there, siting less than an inch from her. Less…than…an…inch. Suddenly, Sakura was very aware of how close he was to her. She turned her head in time to catch the sunset, acutely aware of the heat radiating off of the handsome man next to her. She could tell her face was bright red.

"See. You look just like a cherry when you do that," Bakugou leaned to whisper in her ears. A memory tried to push its way to the surface of Sakura's mind, but it was interrupted by a male voice coming from behind them.

"Hey! It's good to see you!" The pervert from Sakura's gym class was leaning behind them. He had placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder and it was startlingly cold compared to the heat radiating next to her. "I thought you weren't coming."

"My sister dragged me along." Her voice was a little more slurred than it was a moment ago. Sakura felt a rush of dizziness hit her. She really should have eaten something more before coming to this party. "Excuse me for a minute, I need to go to the restroom." She stood and pulled away from the icy touch. She heard shuffling beside her and looked to see Bakugou standing. "Hey dummy, I'm more than capable of going to the bathroom by myself. Keep an eye on my sister and her friend." He frowned, but sat back down.

She walked past the pervert, and headed up the beach. Damnit. She couldn't remember where there was a bathroom around here. Figuring it would be difficult to find one on this portion of the beach, she resigned herself to walking up a board walk that lead to what looked like open businesses. She eventually found one that had a public toilet around the back.

Great. Another dark, dingy alley. She was more than accustomed to these. She normally teleported to places like this, because they were normally empty. She knocked, and after no response began to put the bathroom key she was given by the store owner in the lock. Before she could turn the key, she heard the first firework and jumped. She felt a cold hand on her bare shoulder again.

"You doing okay there?" The perverts voice came from an uncomfortably close distance.

Sakura tried to shrug off his hand, but his grip tightened. She felt another wave of dizziness hit her. How was she this drunk off of one drink? She turned her head to look at the man behind her. "I'm fine. The fireworks just startled me. Can you please just let me go to the bathroom."

He looked surprised. That was a weird reaction, she thought. She should be the one shocked by him, not the other way around. He was the creep who had followed her into a dark alley. His face quickly switched to a smile.

"Are you sure?" His voice seemed to echo in her head, as she lost balance. The perv used his other hand to wrap around her waist, pushing her back flush against his body.

"What the fuck? Let go!" Her voice was drowned out by another firework. Sakura elbowed the perv in the stomach. She heard a gasp, and his arms loosened. She fell to her knees, scraping them on the pavement and tried to steady herself.

"Jesus, how much did you drink?" The pervert coughed behind her; his voice filled will malice.

Sakura turned from the jarring change in tone, and made eye contact with the bastard behind her. He didn't look like he did before. No. He looked like a wolf that was about to make a kill. Sakura tried to stand through vertigo. What was going on? She couldn't be this drunk off of one drink. Her vision shifted suddenly, and she felt herself falling again. Cold hands grabbed on to her. As soon as the perv put his hand on her, she felt her drunkenness intensify.

"You…" She slurred.

"Don't even know my name, do you?" His voice was dark now. She tried to push away, but she felt another wave of vertigo hit her. He was doing this to her. Her mind was foggy, but she could tell that much. "Don't worry," his wicked voice whispered in her ear. "I'll forgive you for being such an uppity bitch. I'm going to take you somewhere safe to sleep this off. But first…" He pushed Sakura against the bathroom door. "One more hit for the road." She felt him push up against her and slide his hand up her inner thigh under her dress.

The drunkenness hit her like a brick wall. She was barely holding onto consciousness. Thinking quickly, she bit her lip as hard as she could. Feeling the lip split and her mouth fill with blood, she felt the sharp pain that gave her a sudden moment of clarity. That was all she needed. As his hand slid up onto her panties, she leaned her head back and slammed it forward into his face as hard as she could.

Crack!

"MOTHER FU…" His voice rang out through the alley as blood gushed from his nose. He took a step back, looking at Sakura. His eyes bleeding with rage. She spit the blood from her mouth at his face.

Smack!

She could barely focus and had not been able to dodge his slap. Sakura fell to the ground, scraping up her hands and already messed up knees. Now there was a sharp throbbing pain on her right cheek.

"Most girls are done in two hits of my quirk." She heard his voice growing closer and tried to swing wildly behind her. He just laughed and grabbed her fist.

"How sloppy." His voice was sharp as he pulled her body around so she was lying on her back. He pushed her down, and she felt another ice-cold rush flow through his hand and into her body. She was desperate now and began screaming and kicking at him. "Stop fighting. No one can hear you over the fireworks." His hand began to snake its way back up her thigh.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Sakura watched in shock as the pervert was ripped off of her and thrown into a wall with a sudden explosion. She was barely able to remain conscious but recognized Bakugou immediately. She watched as he walked over to the seemingly unconscious pervert, and pulled him up by his collar. He pulled his hand back about to strike the man.

"Stop!" Sakura yelled out, and seemed to knock Bakugou out of whatever daze he was in. "You could kill him," she slurred. He let go of the bastard who crumpled to the ground. Finally, Sakura rested her head back, no longer able to hold it up. She felt hands pull her up and cradle her. She could barely see straight, but these hands weren't cold. They were warm, and she allowed herself to drift slightly.

"Cops are on their way," Bakugou stated flatly. She couldn't tell if he was looking at her, but she felt him walking out of the alley. He set her down gently onto the pavement by the entrance of the store. The owner rushed out, and she could tell words were exchanged but she couldn't get her mind to focus on what was being said. The shop keep stayed by her side while Bakugou went back into the alley and returned dragging the unconscious pervert.

He came over and sat beside her. Her head lulled to one side and rested on his shoulder.

"Thanks, hero," she slurred.

He remained silent and she saw a few fireworks go off over the beach. Eventually, they saw lights flashing, and heard the sirens coming toward them.

"You're still an asshole, though," Sakura whispered, and felt Bakugou chuckle.

It was a sweet sound, and the tiredness that she had been fighting won. When the cops arrived, they found her completely unconscious and unresponsive. Two ambulances were called moments after they arrived. One for a badly burned young man, and one for the unconscious girl.


	8. True Man

Bakugou was getting irritated with the police. He had told them everything he knew while they waited for the ambulances to arrive, and it felt like they kept asking the same questions. After about 8 minutes of questioning, he lost his patience and walked away.

Bakugou didn't even bother asking the medics if he could get in the ambulance with Sakura. He simply followed the medics after they put her unconscious body on the gurney and placed her in the back of the ambulance. It seemed like one of them was about to say something as Bakugou sat down next to her, but one death glare later and there were no questions asked. The older medic stayed in the back, while the other one, visibly shaken by the Bakugou's look, got in the front to drive.

Bakugou was pissed. Something had been telling him that he should follow her, but she had told him to stay. He ended up only being able to restrain himself from following her for about 5 minutes, and he was currently kicking himself for every second he sat on that beach. If he had been there 1 or 2 minutes earlier…

"Hey, kid," the older medic, leaning over Sakura and taking her vitals, was looking down at Bakugou's hands seriously. "You should get your hand looked at when we get to the hospital."

Bakugou didn't say anything. He couldn't stop looking at the bruise on Sakura's cheek, or stop watching the EMT try to put an IV in her arm.

"Here," the medic spoke again after getting the IV. He tried to give something to the dazed teen, but after no response he nudged his shoulder. Bakugou broke his eye contact from the unconscious girl, and stared up at the medic irate. It didn't faze the older man, and he pushed some gauze into Bakugou's hands. "You're bleeding. Put this on your knuckles, put pressure on it, and hold it there. Don't take it off until we get to the ER. Do you understand?" The medic was calm, probably a veteran at dealing with situations like this, and went back to start getting fluids into Sakura. His demeanor helped to calm some of Bakugou's nerves.

He looked down to see what the EMT was talking about. His knuckles were bleeding quite badly, and they were starting to drip on the floor of the ambulance. He said nothing, but followed the older man's instruction.

Okay. Maybe punching the brick wall wasn't the best plan, but when Bakugou had gone back and saw Nejire's face, blistered with burns, it was either the pervs face or the wall.

As the ambulance was getting close to the hospital, Sakura was starting to come around.

"B…Bakugou?" Her voice was light, as if she were speaking in a dream. He moved closer to her, but he could tell she couldn't focus on anything. Her eyes seemed to be rolling around, a clear indication that she was still extremely intoxicated.

"What do you need, Cherry?" Bakugou's hand reached and grabbed the hand that didn't have an IV in it.

"Tell the police to call True Man. Tell them not to call the Hatsume's." Her voice was slurred, but her expression was earnest. "He'll know what to do. Don't let them tell anyone what happened. Please."

Before Bakugou could say anything the older EMT stood up and relayed the information to the guy driving. He could hear some chatter from the dispatchers, and heard a man's voice confirming.

"Don't worry, kid," the medic said to Sakura as he sat back down. "He is on duty right now. Saw him earlier. I'm sure he will be at Hospital in no time." He patted her pink head, and smiled at her. She sighed and closed her eyes, again.

When they arrived at the hospital, they wheeled Sakura in, but told Bakugou he wouldn't be able to go back with her. When he tried to push his way inside, the older medic planted his feet in front of him.

"Okay, kid. A doctor will be here to look at your hand soon, and call your parents. Once that girl is evaluated and stabilized, you can go back and see her." His voice was empathetic, but firm. Bakugou knew this old guy wasn't going to budge.

"Fine, but you don't have to call my parents. I'm 18. I can take care of myself."

"Hey. You're in shock, your hurt, and your friend is in the hospital. You need someone to support you right now." He was being gentle, and it frustrated Bakugou. He wasn't made of glass. This wasn't going to break him. He scowled at the medic who sighed in return. "Come on kid. Give me their number, and I promise to speak to True Man when he gets here. That way you can go back with him and sit with pink hair."

"Dammit!" Bakugou's growl startled the nurses sitting at the front desk. "Fine! Will that make you leave me alone, already?"

Sakura didn't know where she was when she finally opened her eyes. The plain white walls, and medical equipment helped tip her off that she was in the hospital, but when she tried to turn to look around her, her head began to pound. She groaned as all of the memories from the party flooded her mind.

After a moment, she was finally able to sit up and see more of her surroundings. Sitting in the corner of the room was a familiar head of spikey blond hair. He was obviously asleep, his head resting against the wall. She noticed a bandage around his hand and frowned.

A nurse walked in, a round middle aged woman with green hair, and both teens jumped at the sudden noise.

"Oh, good! You're awake! I'm just here to check your IV. Your dad is getting you both some breakfast at the cafeteria. He should be back soon." Here joyful voice was too loud for Sakura's poor head. It throbbed and she rubbed her temples. "Yeah. Sorry, hun. You will probably have a killer hang-over today. Seemed like that boy did a number on 'ya." The nurse lowered her voice, but continued to bounce around Sakura, checking her charts and the bags connected to her IV. "Getting some food in your system and some RR will do the most good. The police and a hero want to talk to you, but I told them to wait until you have breakfast."

She turned to the boy sitting in the corner, his tired eyes looking up at the woman. "You need sleep, Katsuki." Her tone was familial and stern. "Your mother wants you home before lunch. Do 'ya hear me? You better be there to help calm your mother's nerves, and I better NEVER get a call from her in the middle of the night telling me her baby boy is in the hospital because he was fighting. Do you understand me Katsuki Bakugou?"

Bakugou shrunk in his seat under the weight of her words, guilt plainly on his face. "Yes, Aunt Inko."

The woman turned and the joyful smile returned as she looked at Sakura. "You let me know if you need anything, dear."

"Um…okay," her voice barely audible, still in shock from watching the friendly woman subdue Bakugou's pride and temper in only a few words. She felt what could only be admiration as the friendly woman left the two alone.

"Wow…"

"Shutup!" There's the Bakugou she was used to. She smiled at him, but he looked away with a blush clearly visible on his face. How cute.

She leaned back and laughed. She was still trying to remember everything that happened last night.

"Hey," her serious tone caught Bakugou's attention. "When she said dad, she didn't mean…"

"It's that True Man guy. Seems like a detective. He didn't really say anything to me, but he let me sit in here to wait. He has been in and out all night. Lots of phone calls."

Sakura sighed. "Thank god." She looked at Bakugou for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase the next thing she wanted to ask. "Um…Bakugou." Her voice sounded much more insecure, and Bakugou noticed her hands wringing her sheet. "Why did you stay? You can go home if you want to. I'd understand." Her nervousness made Bakugou smile, but only for a second before he caught himself.

"There was no way I was going to leave adefenselessgirl to fend for herself." His tone was a familiar one to Sakura; cocky and condescending.

"Yep," her faced instantly switched to one of frustration, and she let her hands rest at her side. "There is the Bakugou I know."

Bakugou let out a laugh and stood up. He walked over to Sakura and leaned close to her. She didn't back down from him, and they ended up face to face, mere inches from one another.

"Plus, I'd never forgive myself if I wasn't there when you needed me, again." His cocky smile faded to one of guilt. "I'm not sure if I can forgive myself for letting that asshole touch you in the first place." His eyes settled on the deep purple bruise apparent on the right side of Sakura's face. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I should have been there." His left hand softly brushed a few the soft pink strands of hair behind her ear.

Sakura felt her heart beating out of her chest. What the hell was this? One second he is acting like a cocky bastard, and the next he is acting like her prince charming?

Before she could say anything, the door opened to reveal a friendly face holding a tray of food. Bakugou stood up, suddenly aware of how close he was to Sakura, and walked back to his chair in the corner.

"Tsu…Tsukauchi," Sakura stumbled, obviously still flustered from Bakugou's touch. "Thank you for coming." This was the face that she was hoping to see, just maybe not at this exact second. Naomasa Tsukauchi had been watching over her since she was five years old and had handed him Deku's letter from the future. Due to his quirk, he believed everything she said right from the beginning. He was the one who kept her past a secret from the Hatsume's, and kept her name out of records to hide her from 'Him'.

Tsukauchi smiled, ignoring the awkward scene he walked in on. Sakura was thankful for that, and reached for a bagel as he placed the tray next to her bed.

"No worries, kiddo. How are you feeling?"

"Head hurts, and stomach isn't feeling great, but I'll make it." She spread some cream cheese on the bagel, her stomach grumbling now that food was so close. "Hatsume's?"

Tsukauchi tossed Bakugou an apple, and sat in a chair that was closest to the bed. "Well, thanks to Bakugou over here, I got in contact with Mei. She was able to provide a solid alibi for you not coming home last night. Told her parents you were both staying at a friend's. Although, it will be hard to come up with an excuse for that bruise. I'm sure you can figure something out."

Sakura nodded as she took a bite of her bagel.

"Okay," Tsukauchi continued. "To save you the worry, any story that would be published about this has been squashed. You won't need to put your name on the police report, and I will make sure the judge throws the book at him." He pulled out a notebook, and read something on it. "Seems like you got into UA. Congrats. Seems like a representative is here to talk to you. UA is good about keeping track of their students even before they start. I couldn't get your name out of the report before your new homeroom teacher caught sight of it. He has been in the waiting room for the past few hours. Seems more than content taking a nap out there, so don't feel rushed, but he wants to talk to you at some point this morning."

Sakura was processing the information when she heard stirring in the corner of the room. She looked up to see Bakugou staring at her and Tsukauchi.

"WHAT THE HELL?! Why didn't you tell me you were also going to UA?!" His face was a strange mixture of frustration and confusion.

"Oh, that reminds me," Tsukauchi continued, unfazed by the outburst. "Bakugou, he wants to talk to you as well. Why don't you do that now, while Sakura and I go over the events of last night." Sakura saw Tsukauchi's jaw clench and knew he was stopping himself from revealing the rest of the truth. She knew it was a difficult side effect of his quirk, Human Lie Detector, that he couldn't lie. Unfortunately, it also made it more difficult for him to tell half-truths or lie by omitting pertinent information. She knew they weren't just going to talk about the events of last night, and that he mostly wanted Bakugou gone so he could talk openly about her quirk.

"Eh? What the hell for?" Bakugou growled, unaware of Tsukauchi's 'tell'.

"Probably has to do with that burned up villain. The reality is you are unlicensed, and you used your quirk on someone. You walked a thin line last night between legal and illegal. I'm sure it will be fine, but he is probably here to make sure you don't do that, again." Tsukauchi's tone was even, but Sakura could tell it irritated him that Bakugou could possibly be in trouble.

Bakugou stared at detective for a moment in shock. He looked back at Sakura and she gave him a small nod.

"You saved me, Bakugou. It will be alright." She tried her best to assure him. He just nodded numbly, and walked out.

"They wouldn't expel him, right?" Sakura's tone shifted to one of worry once she was sure he wasn't in earshot.

"I'd doubt it," Tsukauchi reassured her. "It wouldn't be a hero academy if they didn't encourage people to be heroes. Although, he might have overdone it a bit."

After a moment of silence, Tsukauchi cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, we can't focus on Bakugou's troubles for long. You have your own to think of. I know it might be hard, but I need you to tell me everything that happened last night. Your attacker is still unconscious, and Bakugou was only there at the last second of it. I need to know what happened, and if there is a possible leak about your quirk. Also, we need to come up with a strategy for next year. UA is already a very publicized university, but I have a source that is telling me All Might will be teaching there next year. The media is going to be swarming the place. It will be hard to keep your name and face out of the news."

Sakura sighed. It was always one problem after another. She felt guilty for dragging poor Tsukauchi through all her drama, again."

"But before we talk about anything," Tsukauchi got up and hugged Sakura's small frame, "I need to know you are alright." She felt his genuine concern as he wrapped her in his long arms. Sakura, for the first time since she woke up, was hit with the reality of what happened to her last night. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears, and she wrapped her arms around the only person on this planet she could call her family. He held her while she cried into his shoulder, and waited until her sobs stopped to pull her back and look her in the eye. "He's going to jail, Sakura. We won't let him hurt anyone else. I'm so sorry." He wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

Tsukauchi was like a big brother to her, and she was grateful for him. However, his kindness and love wouldn't take away this fresh scar, and they both knew it.

"Whatever. Just throw this trauma on that pile over there," Sakura said with a dark laugh, gesturing vaguely off to her side. "Just another one for me to work through, right?" Tsukauchi stared at her with a deep-set frown.

"You'll get through this, kid. You will come out the other side of this stronger." He squeezed her shoulder and went back to his chair. 'Back to detective mode,' Sakura thought to herself smiling. He was always good at compartmentalizing. She admired him for that.

"Thanks, Mr. True Man," she teased. It helped knowing he couldn't lie to her. It meant he really believed she was strong enough to get through this, and she relied on his faith to pull herself forward until she got to a place where she had that faith in herself. "Okay," she sighed, "so it all started at the beach…"


	9. Move In

Bakugou hated the conversation he had with his new homeroom teacher, Mr. Aizawa. He had been scorned for using his quirk without a license, and worse yet, physically harming someone. If Bakugou hadn't been running on only an hour of sleep, and if he hadn't overused his quirk last night, he would have had half a mind to bitch the bastard out. It was stupid that he was in trouble for saving a woman from getting raped.

However, he didn't have the strength to argue. Not even when Aizawa told him to go home. His body and mind were on the brink of total exhaustion and he knew it. Not to mention that he agreed with Aizawa in some places. In truth, Bakugou lost his temper and went too far. He needed better control of his anger. Because of this, when the tired hero was done speaking with him, Bakugou simply nodded and left.

Catching a train back home, Bakugou leaned forward on his knees and reflected on what he had been told. Aizawa had confirmed that the man confessed right away, so there would be no punishment for Bakugou's actions as his story was corroborated. He was also told that the man had pretty severe burns on his face, but it was unlikely Bakugou would face any charges. He had "gotten lucky". Bakugou's face contorted into a grimace, just as it had when Aizawa had said that at the hospital. It made him want to spit. There was nothing "lucky" about any of this.

What did bring him solace was Aizawa's cruel smile when he mentioned the protocol for dealing with people who attack UA students. This boy would be blacklisted from any University's in Japan, or internationally. He was also put on a list for sexual predators for life, and he would be registered as a low-level villain until he had gone through multiple programs to help ensure his change in character after prison time.

He leaned his head back to look out the trains window, thinking back on Aizawa's smile, that had felt somewhat out of place on the mans tired face, and his matter-of-fact tone as he had told Bakugou, "we are protective of our students at UA. Especially in situations like this one. No one…and I mean NO ONE, gets to hurt our students and get away with it." He believed him, and it had put him at ease enough to leave Sakura at the hospital. UA would throw the book at that damn pervert.

Shit. He had tried to push back thoughts of Sakura.

Bakugou slumped down again and covered his face in his hands. Why had he said those things to her? Why did he touch her? He must be borderline delirious from lack of sleep.

The train halted at his stop, and he dragged his feet as he walked out of the station. His mind flashing to pictures of her face as he had gently brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Damnit!" Bakugou kicked a rock that was on the sidewalk as hard as he could.

He hated the mix of childish embarrassment and complicated feelings that fluttered in his stomach. All of the emotions that sprung up in him just made him feel weak and uncomfortable. He needed to focus on his goal.

Sakura had made it pretty clear that she didn't even remember him, and so his feelings towards her were definitely one-sided. He had kept them under wraps for over a year now, ever since he stumbled upon her going into that dusty old gym. He had pushed her away once he realized she didn't recognize the him as the boy she had met so briefly when they were young, because a part of him was hurt, as she had left a definite impact on his life.

Then, in that damn hospital room, she spoke to him the same way she had when they first met. She was so nervous and adorably shy. The flash of red on her cheeks had caused his brain to go into a standstill. He remembered that warm summer night when they…

"Bakugou!" His mother's loud voice halted his train of thought. The spikey blonde woman ran down the street and pulled the exhausted teen into a hug. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Sorry." He couldn't hide the exhaustion is his voice, and his mother pulled away concerned. She turned, and practically dragged him into their small, humble home. Once the front door was closed, she smacked the back of his head. "Damnit! What the hell was that for, 'ya old hag!" She just smiled at him.

"That's for putting yourself in danger." Bakugou huffed and began walking to his room. "Go sleep, and I will wake you up for dinner," she called from behind him. "Oh, and Bakugou," she paused, and he turned to look at her, "good job saving that girl. I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah. Whatever," he said dismissively, but he couldn't hide his smile as he walked into his room.

Sakura had spent the rest of the summer working with Mei on her hero suit. They had even recruited Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume to help as they both worked in the hero support item business. Before Sakura had realized what was happening, her hero outfit had become a family project. Mr. Hatsume had even contacted a close family friend that was a famous hero costume designer to help create her bodysuit.

For a brief moment, Sakura found herself being a member of the family, rather than an onlooker. Testing out different designs: some successful, some…explosive. Eventually, she ended up with something that everyone felt good with. She stood in the living room with a shy smile, while the rest of that Hatsume's gathered around her. With a flash, the preset camera took the impromptu family photo. Mrs. Hatsume grabbed the camera and headed to print it out.

"Make three, honey," Mr. Hatsume called after her. "That way we can have one, and both girls can take a copy to put in their dorms."

"Come on, hero," Mei began pushing Sakura outside, Mr. Hatsume following close behind. "Let's do one last test run to make sure everything is working."

Sakura allowed herself a moment of pride, as she walked out into the backyard with the amalgamation of all the Hatsume's hard work.

The only item not designed by the Hatsume's was her skintight, black bodysuit with two red dots near her naval that were a signature of the suit's designer. After wearing it a few times, Sakura found that the suits material was comfortable and fire proof (the latter being especially useful while trying out Mei's precarious inventions).

Sakura also realized that it allowed her to be quite nimble when using grappling and fighting techniques. The suit was sleeveless with a sharp v neckline, and overall showed the most of Sakura's personal aesthetic: minimalism. However, the short girl was then seemingly wrapped in the Hatsume's inventions which were red, with copper pipes and buckles, that gave off a more steampunk feel. Sakura didn't mind the design. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest to feel like she was a part of this quirky family, and it felt like a perfect mold of all of them.

Mei had designed and equipped her with large red boots with copper rockets that helped Sakura jump higher to gain better sightlines for her quirk. The boots also helped absorb the impact from falling at those great heights.

Mrs. Hatsume was more practical in her design, creating a backpack that could hold supplies and be used as a parachute if Sakura found herself falling with too much momentum. The red backpack had leather straps that went around her in a full-body harness to help support her weight if the parachute was deployed.

Finally, there were her gauntlets and kneepads. She had described her fighting techniques to Mr. Hatsume, and he designed her metal copper kneepads that acted as extra protection when falling, but also packed an extra punch when she kneed someone during a fight. Her gauntlets were also outfitted to absorb impact and protect her bones from breaking when using her momentum to deliver punches that she would otherwise be incapable of throwing.

Sakura practiced with her new support items until the sun was beginning to set, Mr. Hatsume and Mei standing back and shouting suggestions from time to time. Eventually, the three went inside for supper and looked over the new family photo that Mrs. Hatsume had printed for them. Sakura looked over it, her eyes filling with tears as she stared down at her in her hero suit, and her family that had helped her design it. Mei leaned over and rested her head on Sakura's shoulder.

"Are you all ready for school to start?" Mei's voice was cheerful, but the was a tinge of sorrow behind it. This summer had been great for Sakura and her relationship. Now it was coming to an end, and they would be moving into different dorms.

"Yeah," Sakura murmured, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was also not excited for her dream of a close family to be ripped away just as it had finally come to fruition. "Everything's packed for the move tomorrow. Are you nervous?"

"Meh," Mei replied. "I'm mostly excited. I keep thinking about all of the new babies I will get to make." She pulled out a notebook and thumbed through it, showing Sakura a ton of designs. "I'm pretty sure I will only be running on caffeine and minimal sleep by next week."

Sakura gave a small smile, and the Hatsume's laughed. Tomorrow would be hard, but it was the beginning of a new journey for the two young women.

Bakugou's father was helping him drop off the last of the moving boxes in his new dorm room, while his mother was already unpacking and placing clothes into the drawers provided by the dorm. The UA dorm rooms were quite spacious with large individual rooms and patios. Each homeroom class was given their own building, including two wings: left for females, and right for males.

Bakugou hadn't paid much attention to the people moving in around him, but he had noticed that his room sat at the end of the hall and only shared a wall with some guy with stupid red hair. He would have to warn the bastard at some point today that he better be quiet after 9pm, otherwise he would be getting his ass kicked.

"Alright, 'ya brat," his mother came over to him placing her hand on his head, giving him a wicked grin, "I better not hear about you causing any trouble for your teachers."

"Shut up!" Bakugou felt childish under the weight of her hand. "I'm not a kid anymore, 'ya old hag!" He smacked her hand away, annoyed and greatful they were in the privacy of his room.

"Okay you two, no fighting." Bakugou's dad swooped down and grabbed the two in a big hug, effectively sedating the situation. Kissing the top of Bakugou's head, he heard the teen growl. "Alright, darling. We should let him finish unpacking and settle in. We're going to head out Katsuki." He pulled away, dragging his wife with him while he walked to the door.

"I'm not kidding, kid," his mother called behind her, "if I hear you are running around and getting in trouble, I will personally come here and kick your ass in front of all of your classmates."

"I'd like to see you try," Bakugou yelled at her.

She simply turned around and smiled. "Call us if you need anything."

"Tch," was the only response she received from her son, but it was as good as any. The two parents left their son to finish the job of unpacking and decorating his room.

After a few hours of unpacking, Bakugou's stomach growled unhappily, and he decided to explore the kitchen in the common area. He had been told that there would be meals available for students prepared by the school's master chef, Lunch Rush.

As he made his way down the hall, he heard a familiar voice. Anger welled up inside the blond as he opened the door and caught site of the green-haired bastard walking towards him holding a large box. He had been talking to the friendly redhead that lived next to him.

"DEKU," Bakugou yelled with venom dripping from each syllable.

"AHHH!" Midoriya dropped his box, which fell with a loud crash of something inside it breaking. "Kacchan!" His hands immediately flew up defensively, surprised by the sudden appearance of his longtime school bully.

"You bastard! What you doing here!?" Bakugou didn't hold back his anger, and instead allowed it to consume all the frustration from moving, essentially fueling it.

"Ah…Sorry…I uh…I live here. I mean…my dorm is right there." Midoriya stumbled through his words, terrified of Kacchan's reaction to them not only being in the same class, but also living together.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY LET A USELESS BASTARD LIKE YOU IN HERE!?" Bakugou was slowly increasing with rage as the reality of the situation began to sink in. He took a step towards Midoriya, who in turn stepped back bumping into someone standing behind him. The pink hair caught Bakugou's eye, and his attention switched to the figure who he only noticed now was standing behind Midoriya. Copper eyes glared back at his, while Sakura's hand grabbed Midoriya's shoulder protectively.

"Bakugou," her words were even but held a firmness to them, "calm down."

She pulled Midoriya behind her, and though they were both similar in height, something about the girl's presence demanded far more fear and respect than the cowering frame behind her.

Bakugou took a breath and became instantly aware of all the eyes on him. Probably half of his class was now staring at him with concerned looks. Some had even began walking over to them, including a blue haired guy with glasses.

Rage seared in his mind, but he knew he had to sedate it for now. He took another deep breath, and steadied a look at the green eyes that were peering out from behind Sakura.

"Stay the fuck out of my way, Deku." He walked toward the kitchen, avoiding Sakura's glare as he walked around them.

As he walked away, he heard Sakura's voice turn sweet and gentle as she helped Midoriya pick up his box. He felt a tightness in his chest, but continued walking forward, glaring at anyone who dared make eye contact with him.

"Are you okay," Sakura's voice was gentle as she walked with the green haired boy into his room.

"Yeah," Midoriya mumbled as he placed the box on his bed. Kirishima had split ways with them in the hallway in order to finish unloading his box in his own room down the hall. "I'm sure Kacchan was just surprised to see me. What are the chances that we would be in the same class? I'm Izuku Midoriya by the way." He reached out to shake hands, but noticed Sakura for the first time. His face lit up bright red as he noticed that he was in his room alone with a girl. His whole body began to shake.

Sakura stared at him curiously. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Uh…I'm fine. Promise" he stumbled, and Sakura smiled at him and grabbed the strange boy's hand and shook it.

"I'm Sakura." She had been caught off guard when she had heard the name Deku, and had found Bakugou bullying this poor boy. "Why did Bakugou call you Deku if your name is Midoriya?"

Some of Izuku's blush faded, and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly with a big goofy smile spreading across his face. "Kacchan and I go way back. It was a name he gave me when I was little to make fun of me." The posture and smile of the awkward teen reminded Sakura of her old mentor. Yep. This was definitely him.

"Deku sounds like the name of a hero to me," her voice was warm and sweet.

Izuku's faced flushed bright red again. "UH…YOU CAN CALL ME DEKU IF YOU WANT." His voice was overly loud and flustered as we waved his hands at her. Sakura realized the situation and took a step back, blood rushing to her cheeks. She saw Deku as a father figure, and hadn't thought about how young Deku would take her words.

"Oh…Uh…," She stammered, trying not to visibly gag at the thought of having accidentally flirted with her future mentor, "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. Um…I'm gonna go." She turned and opened the bedroom door. She met Kirishima's gaze as he was about to enter. He looked back from her blushing face to Midoriya's blushing face behind her.

"Oh ho ho," he cooed, "I could come back later if you two lovebirds need more time." Sakura brushed past him, screaming internally, and rushed out of the male wing. She rubbed her face as she walked out into the common room. She would have to clear that up eventually, but it would not be today. She looked over and saw Bakugou sulking over the stove. She noticed that in the time that she had been gone, everyone had either left the common room, or moved as far away from the blond as possible.

She sighed, feeling an unjustified guilt, and walked straight to the kitchen. She tried to clear her mind of her previous encounter with Deku, when she caught a whiff of something yummy as she came up behind Bakugou. She felt her stomach growl.

"We aren't making the best first impressions today." Her voice obviously caught Bakugou off guard as he jumped.

"Shit!" The red eyes spun to find her, and for brief moment she saw what looked like sorrow before he turned away from her to focus again on his cooking. "What the hell do you want?" His voice was gruff, but lacked the edge it normally had.

"Just checking on you. Something smells good. Did you make enough for me?" Her voice was playful as she tried to get Bakugou to react. Over the summer, she had tried to get to know Bakugou, especially after the whole encounter on the beach. However, every time she tried to talk to him, he just seemed to shut down. Was that moment they had in the hospital just a fluke brought on by exhaustion, trauma, and residual adrenaline? Possibly, but something kept pulling her back to him. Something she couldn't put her finger on.

"Tch," was the only response. The boy continued cooking and ignoring her. Sakura sighed and walked to the fridge to see what was in it. There were a ton of meals that just needed to be heated up in a pan or microwaved, so she grabbed one and put it in the microwave. She went to press the start button when Bakugou's hand stopped her. "You can have some of mine if you don't mind it being spicy." His voice was soft so that only she could hear. Where their hands touched, her skin radiated with warmth. There it was, again. That gentleness she had witnessed at the hospital. She looked at him, but he was looking down at the food he was cooking. He pulled away, and she felt herself wishing he would have left his hand on hers for just a moment longer.

Without saying anything else, she pulled the meal out of the microwave and returned it to the fridge. She then went and grabbed two plates and cups, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks from the boy cooking. He was a hothead, but there definitely something pulling her toward him.

Bakugou plated the meal, and the two sat at a table and ate quietly. This year was going to be wild if this was how things were already starting, but she wouldn't expect less from the prestigious school.


End file.
